pinaywifespeaks|bits and tidbits ..

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

It’s not as if this blog is that great but yes I do feel great to have found blogging as a hobby. My enthusiasm in creating this blog have really pushed me to learn things I did not really know before. Things I thought to be difficult, I have managed to learn just for the sake of making my blog sites work.

2008 was a great year for me as a blogger. It is when I started this blog, when I have started to explore the net with new possiblities. It is also when I’ve met several online friends who had been great supporters and I also found really outstanding blogs which has been a source of inspiration for me.

This site still has a lot of work needed but I am all fired up to keep it going and improving it. For one, I really have to consolidate the topics. I’ve posted about a wide range of topics that I find it confusing myself. So I have already made categories I will write about in this site as well as for the other sites I maintain.

For Pinaywifespeaks, I’d be writing more on these topics: Cambodia; home; parenting; money matters; travel;  culture and traditions; blogging and internet; fun, bizaare and entertainment and personal thoughts.

For my Blogger blog, Pinaywife Atbp - general (smorgasbord); fashion; photos; health and fitness; home and living; shopping; DIY tips; food and recipes; Philippines.

My other blogs have fairly focused niches. For CelebrityadsOnline - Asian celebrity profiles, photo galleries, TV and print ads. For Laugh Out Loud, just humor! For Desserthaven, yummy, sinful dessert recipes. For Template Frenzy, all free blogger templates…

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We consider auto insurance a must have if you have your own vehicle. Accidents can always happen and it helps protects your car against damages as well as from you from the liabilities that could result from accidents.

Most countries also require drivers to have an auto insurance before they could register their cars. I’ve been doing some research on auto insurances and I learned that there are actually three categories of liability coverage: (1) for injury to any one person, (2) for injury to two or more people, and (3) for damage to another person’s property.

There are also numerous types of coverages like medical payments coverage, collission protection, comprehensive - which covers your car against other nonaccidental damages ike theft.There is also the underinusred motorist and uninsured motorist coverage, personal injury protection or no-fault.

If these terms starts to baffle you, well you’re in the same boat as me and my husband. So getting the services of an insurance agent or broker to assist you in making informed decision is really helpful. If you already know what you want and need, you can goto direct-provider insurance but if you find making decisions tough, auto insurance quotes as well as agents and brokers can help you choose from various policies available.

I am an obsessive cleaner. I can’t stand it if the house is in chaos and dusty. Hi-ace says I am weird coz’ after I had breakfast in the morning, I would usually go barefoot on the living room and the other rooms just so I could check if the floor needs another round of polishing. If the floor feels a little sticky or has small grains of sand or dust I would really feel uneasy about it and would really need to clean it with a damp rag and polish it with a floor cleaner.

In the kitchen too as well as the bathroom I love scrubbing the sinks as well as the tiles as I hate seeing molds there. Disinfectants and deodorizers are my cleaning buddies when it comes to kitchen and bath cleaning.

My daughter and I both has asthma so I don’t like have dusty bookshelves tv stands and cabinets around the house. These stuff really accumulates a lot of dust and if we don’t dust the shelves regularly, we end up always sneezing.

I probably wore out our furniture faster than other coz of too much obsessive cleaning. And now that I think about it, I probably wore out our previous house helpers too..:(

This year my husband and I have decided to buy a new car. For one thing, it’s a necessity here in Phnom Penh. Getting around here is not as easy as in Manila where public transportation is always readily available. There we could easily hail a jeepney, a bus, a taxi or you can get on a train, and if just short distances, there are plenty of tricyles and pedicabs. If you don’t have your own transportation, its still pretty easy to get around Manila.

It’s a different story here in Phnom Penh. Although there are tuktuk’s and motodops around, I still find it difficult since you have to speak the language to let them know where you are going (they don’t have regular routes) and bargaining the price is pretty tough also since most of them are bent on charging foreigners higher prices.

Most people here own motorbikes and believe me the streets here are not for the faint-hearted as a lot of motorbike drivers don’t follow traffic rules. I’ve also witnessed several minor traffic accidents and that is hardly surprising because of too many motorbikes and cars.

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I know a lot of women who are so into handbags. My mom is one. She is really thrifty when it comes to spending her money but two things are exceptions to her “window shop-compare prices-think about it” rule - shoes and handbags! She frequently complains she doesn’t have a handbag or a shoe to use but check out her closet its almost full of them. It doesn’t matter how much is it as long as she likes it, then its a go. That makes it easier for us to give her gifts. We know she’ll really appreciate a handbag or a pair of shoes.

My cousin, Dalz is also addicted to handbags. She prefers them really colorful, big and roomy. It doesn’t matter if its branded or not as long as it would match her outfits. She’s really so into fashion and for her, handbags are the ultimate fashion accessory.

Tinz, one of my best friends, simply can’t do without a handbag. Her preferred handbag style would be something really colorful and unique. My sister too, though she’s bit on the really thrifty side, she starting to indulge in handbags. My guess is that our mom’s passion for it is rubbing off her.

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There times when I really feel like updating my blog yet no matter how much I try to squeeze a post out of my head I still come up with nothing.That is one reason why I always keep a small notebook with me wherever I go so I could write down ideas that just prop up. Ideas usually come up when I’m drinking coffee in some corner cafe especially when I can hear some interesting conversation around me, when I’m lining up in the grocery, waiting for my turn in the bank, the dentist’s clinic, or waiting in terminals.

Notepad is also one of my bestfriends. When I’m surfing the net I would always have my Notepad open to jot down interesting sites, news and possible posting ideas. For the past year that I have been blogging I have accumulated a smorgasboard of notes, and managed to fill up three small notebooks.

I’ve started making this list about some personal stuff I would want to write about. These are all just random, simple and cutesy topics but writing about them would reveal a bit more of the real person behind the blogger. For personal bloggers who are experiencing some lack of blogging inspiration, check out the list, it might prompt some ideas.

1. What was the funniest/nastiest/most memorable prank you ever pulled on someone?

2. Describe your first date/first kiss. Hmm.. did you see stars or you just felt gross?

3. What is scariest experience you had?

4. What kind of games did you play as a kid?

5. What do you miss most about your childhood?

6. What kind of child where you? Shy? A bully? Popular? Loner? Stubborn? …

7. Do you have any phobias? what thing do you fear most?

8. Who was your celebrity crush during your teens?

9. What outfit did you wear before that you swore you’d never wear again? If you have photos and the right amount of courage, then post it!

10. Do you have any regrets? Whats the biggest mistake you ever made?

12. What’s the weirdest/hardest/funniest job you ever had?

13. What’s the most embarassing thing that happened to you?

14. What’s your wildest dream?

15. Create characters about your family and friends and talk about their unique characters. Use avatars!

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Why did I take up a Business Administration course? I’ve asked myself that countless times. A few years after graduation, I often think that the course is too generic and general for me. Back then I just decided to enroll in the easiest course and major I could think of, added to that, a lot of my friends were also enrolled in BSBA courses.

I also imagined myself working as an executive secretary, or in some investment banker jobs and perhaps eventually starting up my own business. After graduation though, looking for a job was tough because of too much competition. A few years of working has also made me realized I would have preferred working on something technical and computers or as a teacher.

That is what’s going to happen when you don’t know what you really want. I was just thinking of simply getting into a university and I didn’t really spare much thought as to what I want to do after I finish school. I do not want to wallow in regrets though. Now that I know what I really want, I am all set to go after it.

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One of the things I obssess about are electronic gadgets. Among these are electronic games. I am not a super dedicated electronic gamer but I do enjoy playing every now and then. I remember in my “younger”years, my parents used to admonish us from playing with electronic games. That time, “electronic gaming” for us meant having a brick game. I really have nimble fingers which is really handy when it comes to typing and making fashion accessories, and all this thanks to my years of playing electronic games.

Times are changing though. Although, electronic games can still be destracting if you get addicted to it, but now these games have evolved not just for entertainment. The recent versions of interactive hardware or softwares are now played for challenge, educational as well as fitness purposes too. Playstation, Nintendo and xbox 360 are among some of the best gaming systems offering a myriad of features and technological innovations for the gaming enthusiasts.

Electronic games are one of our favorite pastimes and bonding activity with our child. I love strategy, card and boards, puzzle games while my husband likes fast-action arcade, adventure, flying simulation games. Our daughter too has been trying out some game programs using gaming to teach reading, writing, math and other basic skills.

Playing electronic games either on your own or with other gamers is certainly a fun way to relieve stress, to indulge in virtual reality fantasies.

I hate spam. (No not the canned food!) I’m sure most bloggers are familiar with it and I know a lot of them who are seriously pissed with spammers. It’s beginning to grate on my nerves too. Everyday, the first thing I would do is to sort out and reply on my blog comments. And everyday too I am greeted by hundreds of spams. I have more than five blogs so I think you can imagine how frustrating it can get…

I have Akismet installed for this wordpress blog and it has been a big help but still there are some legitimate comments that goes to the spam folder so I still end up checking it. It has been getting worse lately and not a day goes by where I have to weed out at least a hundred spam comments.

Grrr! Spammers be gone!